Tricky time for lunchboxes: banana shortage hits supermarket shelves after cool weather in Queensland

Australian shoppers might find it more difficult to buy bananas after slow growth in Queensland but stone fruit prices should drop in coming weeks. Photograph: Ellen Smith/The Guardian

A shortage of Australia’s most popular fruit, bananas, has hit supermarket shelves at a tricky time for lunchboxes, right as apple season winds down after tough growing conditions and summer stone fruit is yet to arrive en masse.

Cool weather in key Queensland growing regions has severely slowed banana production, leaving major supermarkets Coles, Woolworths and Aldi with sparse displays or very green stock.